The Truth About Occasional Invaders In Arizona

The Truth About Occasional Invaders In Arizona

5/31/2018

(The following is a work of fiction drawn from real stories)

There are many things my mother told me while growing up. And, if I had listened to her, I would not know what it feels like to walk three miles in 10-degree weather with frozen shoes, frozen socks, and frozen pant legs. Sadly, I do know what that feels like. In fact, I know what a lot of bad things feel like because I didn’t believe my mom when she gave me good advice. I had to learn for myself. But life would have been much easier if I have taken her advice and learned from her mistakes. Today, I’m hoping you’ll learn from mine.

Earwigs are harmless? Yeah right. One morning I woke up to a scratching sound in my ear–and I was pretty sure something had crawled in there while I was sleeping. I went to the bathroom and got a Q-tip to see if I could get whatever was in there, out. But there was nothing on the Q-tip. On my way to work I picked up an earwax tool and gave that a try. Out came an earwig! Fortunately, it was whole and not just a piece of an earwig. While earwigs don’t lay eggs in ear canals and they don’t have the ability to burrow their way into the brain, I can tell you that they can, and DO, get into ears.

Box elder bugs are just a nuisance. I’m going to say no to that. These bugs used to gather on my home every fall, and they would also find a way in. It was a pain, for sure. But the worst part was that they caused my electricity bill to go up. Apparently, they have a preference for congregating on A/C units, and that puts a stress on the unit. Who knew! Not this guy, that’s for sure.

How about crickets? You may be thinking like I did, that crickets are no big deal. But I only thought that way until I rolled over in bed, not once, but on two separate occasions, and rolled onto a living, squirming and, might I add, hard-shelled cricket! The second time was the final straw. Now I have ongoing pest control from a professional and no more crickets!

People get pest control because pests can threaten the health of a family, damage belongings, and destroy a home. But, even if there were no “dangerous” pests in the world, getting year-round pest service is worth every penny, even if its only function is to prevent “harmless” pests from getting in. Take my advice. There’s no such thing as a harmless pest.